From ski jumping to cycling, the parallel is not obvious. Yet this cyclist managed to be world champion in both disciplines.
In Slovenia, ski jumping is an institution. This very particular discipline of winter sports has been established for a long time in this country to the west of the Alps. The principle ? Launch on a springboard at more than 90 km/h to glide, with special skis much wider than average, as far as possible to obtain the most points possible from the judges, thanks to the length of the jump and technical perfection.
Although ski jumping was born in Norway, Slovenia has been at the top of the world hierarchy of the discipline for many years, driven by Peter Prevc and Timi Zajc. With, at the center of the Slovenian imagination, the mythical Planica ski jump. Located next to the Kranjska Gora resort, it is one of the five sites in the world with a ski flying jump, one of the ski jumping disciplines allowing jumps of more than 200 meters.
This popularity means that many young Slovenians are trying their hand at ski jumping, and Slovenian cycling stars of recent years are no exception. Among them, one rider has done more than just try, as he is world champion in the discipline. In 2007, Slovenia won the team competition at the junior world ski jumping championships, with a certain Primoz Roglic in its ranks. The three-time winner of the Vuelta a España had indeed distinguished himself on the ski jumps before climbing the Alpine passes. However, a heavy fall in 2007 slowed down his career. And even if he put his skis back on, he was no longer among the best Slovenians, which put an end to his Olympic dreams. He then turned to cycling and joined a professional team, Adria Mobil, in 2013.
But it was in 2016 and his arrival in the Jumbo team that his career really took off. He then won the time trial of the ninth stage of the Giro d’Italia. Roglic won the Tour de France the following year, in a mountain stage finished solo in Serre Chevalier.
That year he finished second in the time trial world championships, confirming his predispositions in this exercise. From 2019, Primoz Roglic became one of the best riders in the peloton, achieving three victories in the Vuelta between 2019 and 2021, a second place in 2020 in the Tour de France and an Olympic time trial champion title in Tokyo in 2020. It is, in his own words, “a truly special moment”, explaining that he “prefers to remember only one victory, that of (his) Olympic title on the time trial in Tokyo”. The man who dreamed of becoming an Olympic champion in ski jumping finally won this coveted gold medal, but in a completely different discipline.